Plants of
South Australia
Swainsona villosa
Fabaceae
Villous Swainson-pea
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Etymology

Swainsona named after Isaac Swainson (1746-1812), an English scientist and horticulturalist who had a private botanic garden near London. Villisa from the Latin 'villosus' meaning covered with soft hairs; referring to its soft and conspicuous covering of hairs.

Distribution and status

Found in red sandy soils in central and north-western South Australia. Also found in Western Australia and Northern Territory. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Gairdner-Torrens
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, South Australian Arid Lands
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

A spreading, usually low growing plant to 20 cm high with numerous dense hairy stems arising from a taproot. Leaves to 8 cm long with 7-15 hairy leaflets. Flowers numerous, purple or occasionally pink or white along a long stalk. Flowering between June and October. Fruits are stiff, papery bladder/balloon like pod to 15 mm long covered in hairs. Seeds are orange to brown, semi-flat reniform seed to 2 mm long with a wrinkled surface. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and December. Collect mature pods. Mature pods can be found lying on the ground next to the plant containing hard seeds. Place the pods in a tray and leave to dry fro a week. Use a rubber bung to rub the pods or break the pods open with your fingers to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 90%. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
6,500 (12.35 g)
5,600 (10.7 g)
50+4-Oct-2010DJD1931
Lake Eyre
1-Jan-201290%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.